Supporting the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Clinic;

IP Externships; and

IP student organizations.

CAREER PLANNING AND PLACEMENT

The Akron Law Career Services office is well-versed in the unique resume and job application procedures IP law students require. The Director of the IP Center and the Assistant Dean for Career Services counsel IP law students on résumé writing, job searching, interviewing skills, and preparing for entrance into the legal profession. Law students participate annually in the national Patent Law Interview Program (PLIP), and the school organizes preparation sessions throughout the academic year for PLIP material and interview preparation as well as Patent Bar studying.

Akron Law students receiving either an IP LLM or IP Certificate have a job placement rate of 100% in the last five years.

Akron’s extensive IP law alumni database enables the IP Center to assist students with networking opportunities nationwide. The office assists in the placement of students in IP-law-related positions during summer sessions and upper-division years.

Graduates receive placement assistance, on request, throughout their careers. Akron’s reputation for excellence in intellectual property law education and high bar passage rate facilitates competitive placements for students and graduates in all areas of practice.

HOW TO APPLY

In assessing an applicant’s academic record, the committee will pay attention to the nature and quality of the applicant’s previous educational experiences and coursework, in addition to the applicant’s educational institution, grade point average generally and in courses related to intellectual property and business, and class rank. Other factors considered will be advanced degrees, supported by official transcripts and the prospective student’s current work experience, with respect to its quality and the applicant’s performance.

Before a candidate may be considered for LL.M. admission, we must receive the following items:

A complete LL.M. application (this link will take you to LSAC.org, where you may complete an application to our program).

A nonrefundable application fee (may be paid by credit card or by check payable to “The University of Akron”). The fee is $50 if candidate applies by March 1 for fall admission or by Sept. 1 for spring admission OR $100 if candidate applies June 1 or later for fall admission or Nov. 1 or later for spring admission.Please note: Even if an applicant submits an application to the LL.M. program online, the applicant still owes the appropriate application fee.

Original, official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.

A personal statement addressing your preparation for and interest in an LL.M. degree in IP. Consideration will be given to work experience in intellectual property or related business experience, as a student or practitioner, as well as to any obstacles that you have overcome. The personal statement may not be longer than two pages.

A two-page resume should preferably include education and employment on the first page and publications and awards on the second page.

Please note that an "entry level" law degree is required before one may pursue the LL.M. program. In the United States, this degree is the Juris Doctor, or J.D., degree. In many countries outside the U.S., the degree is called the Bachelor of Laws and Letters, or LL.B.

For international students

If English is not your first language OR you attended a school in which the majority of classes were not conducted in English, you must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and the Test of Spoken English (TSE). Visit www.ets.org for more information on the TOEFL and the TSE.

The preferred score for the TOEFL is 650 on the written exam or a 280 on the computer-based exam.

The TOEFL and TSE may be waived if you have earned a degree from a college or University in the United States, or from a foreign college or University at which the majority of your classes were taught in the English language; or if your first language is English.